


the heart is hard to translate

by Valkyrees



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: But mostly fluff, F/F, happy au (8, little bit of angst i guess, this is mostly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-18 17:27:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15490953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valkyrees/pseuds/Valkyrees
Summary: Chloe wraps her arms around Rachel's waist and it's the only thing that matters. "Rachel, I'll never be mad at you for chasing your dreams and finding your happiness. Even if it doesn't involve me."Rachel presses into the warmth, fingers twisting in Chloe's flannel. If she could only figure out how to get her words to stop clumping together in the back of her throat, she could maybe tell Chloe that that's really the most backwards thing in the world.It's taken her five years, four Grammys, three world tours, and endless amounts of sex and drugs to realize that the only place she'll ever find her happiness is with Chloe Price.There's only one reason Rachel Amber would ever go back to Arcadia Bay, and that's Chloe Price.





	the heart is hard to translate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jthawky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jthawky/gifts).



> alright, so here it is. i can't promise it'll be great, but i _tried_.

When Chloe opens the door, Rachel stops breathing.

She's not sure what she expected, but Chloe's just like she remembered her — tall, hot and fit and  _blue._ Her hair is still magnificently blue, skin mid-winter pale in her navy  _Runaways_ t-shirt and dark gray and black flannel. Her big blue eyes are sparkling and her lovely mouth is somehow set in a friendly smile despite the fact that Rachel walked away five years ago. It's so completely overwhelming that Rachel just stands there like an idiot for what feels like an eternity, until Chloe shuffles her feet and says in a low voice, "According to the internet, you've been MIA for ten days. Please tell me I'm not harboring a fugitive."

"It's not like that," Rachel says immediately. She tries to relax her shoulders, but her body just feels like one bundled up nerve. "I'm here because I need. Because I missed... you."

"Oh," Chloe says, concern clear on her face. Everything is clear about her — the worry that something is really wrong with Rachel, the happiness in her eyes but also the way she's nervously twisting her hands together, the relaxed way she's carrying herself despite the fact that her life is currently being flipped on it's head. Rachel's gotten accustomed to fake smiles, fake laughs, and people actively shutting out genuine emotion, so she's completely unprepared to be standing in front of an open book. "I missed you too, Rach. But I still need to know if you offed your manager or something."

Chloe smiles big enough to crinkle the sides of her mouth, and suddenly Rachel's heart feels too big for her chest. She's used to Chloe making jokes when she's nervous, but nerves isn't what she expected. "You're not mad at me? Because —"

"Rach, I —" Chloe's hand on Rachel's waist makes her melt so fast that she has to fumble forward to stop herself from falling. Her forehead crashes hard into Chloe's shoulder, but Chloe wraps her arms around her and it's the only thing that matters in the whole entire universe. "Rachel, I'll never be mad at you for chasing your dreams and finding your happiness. Even if it doesn't involve me."

Rachel presses into the warmth, fingers twisting in Chloe's flannel. If she could only figure out how to get her words to stop clumping together in the back of her throat, she could maybe tell Chloe that that's really the most backwards thing in the world.

It's taken her five years, four Grammys, three world tours, and endless amounts of sex and drugs to realize that the only place she'll ever find her happiness is with Chloe Price.

*

Five years ago, Rachel left Arcadia Bay, Oregon so hastily she'd barely had a chance to develop a plan for what to do with her life. She needed to get out of there, she needed to run away, she needed to be free. She felt so suffocated, so trapped, so _helpless_  that she's one-hundred percent certain she would have died if she'd stuck around.

In fact, the only regret she's ever had about that decision is leaving Chloe behind.

She'd ended up in New York City with the birthday money from her dad and a duffel bag full of clothes. It took her two days to find a job in a hipster coffee shop, and one day to convince the owner to let her work for half the pay in exchange for letting her crash in the small closet of an upstairs apartment. It was two months later in the same coffee shop that she met the guy that would give her her big break.

It's not like she meant to leave Chloe behind or wanted to leave Chloe behind or purposely left her in the past — she just needed to keep moving forward. 

And for the past year and a half, the guilt from that decision has been eating at her so constantly, that she was positive Chloe wouldn't even open the door for her if she showed up, let alone go out and get groceries so she could make Rachel avocado on toast and freshly squeezed orange juice.

It's as if she's crossed into a different universe where she didn't royally screw over the only girl that's ever loved her.

"You want me to strain out the pulp, or everything in glass?" Chloe asks, shuffling through the cabinet and pulling out a glass cup. She's being hospitable and part of Rachel feels like it's not fair. She almost  _wants_ to be yelled at. "Rach? Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Rachel says, scratching her nail against the counter top of the central island. "Everything in the cup is fine, you're already doing enough for me."

"I spread some avocado on a piece of toasted bread and squeezed some oranges. It's hardly  _enough_ ," Chloe says back without hesitation. "I want you to feel welcome here, because you are."

"I left you," Rachel says, and her voice breaks. "I mean, after everything. After all the shit and the things you did for me and the promises. I just... left. I shouldn't just. You don't have to censor yourself to keep me here. I'll still stick around even if you tell me how you really feel. I deserve it."

Chloe brings the glass over and sets it next to the half-eaten toast on the counter in front of Rachel. Then she grips her hands on the edge of the counter top and leans forward. "I'll tell you what I really think," she says, jaw clenching tight enough to make Rachel's stomach drop. Here it goes; the proverbial shit is finally hitting the fan. "I think... fuck, Rachel. I think life dealt you a pretty messed up hand with your family. I think you almost got murdered by a second-rate thug. I think I've been in love with you since the first day we hung out in the junkyard, and if I could go back to the day you left I'd do it all exactly the same, because it was best for us both." 

She pauses and puts her arms on the counter, leans forward so she's closer to Rachel.

"I think you're special and amazing, and. I think the only thing you deserve — the only thing you've ever deserved — is to be happy."

Rachel clenches her teeth. She's not quite sure what she's aiming for or what exactly she  _needs_ to hear right now. This just doesn't feel like it's it. It feels like she's being let off the hook when she shouldn't be. Like she always is. It's not fair. She just wants fair.

"Are you sure that's everything?" she asks, "Because, it's okay if there's more."

"Yeah I think those are all my thinks," Chloe says, blinking down at her hands and then back up at Rachel again. "Those are it."

Rachel still can't get herself to relax, but she does feel more calm. As long as Chloe doesn't hate her, she can work her way through everything else. "Okay," she says, picking up the toast from the plate. "Okay."

Chloe sighs, and looks down at her hands as she interlocks them. "Are you just here because you want me to punish you? Do you need me to punish you so you can feel better about what..." Chloe looks up, eyes intently focused on Rachel's. "It was a good decision, Rach. Right down to the part where you left me behind. I'm in a good place now, but I wasn't then."

Fuck. There are a lot of reasons Rachel is here, but none of them are to force Chloe to convince Rachel that it was okay to hurt her. And she  _knows_ she hurt Chloe, it nearly ripped Rachel's own heart out and she was the one that walked away. "No, I told you why I'm here. I said I missed you, and I meant that."

"Missed me enough to show your face in Arcadia Bay again?"

"Well, I'm trying not to show my face to anyone," Rachel laughs. "But, yeah. Missed you enough to come back to this shithole of broken dreams. No offense, since you're still here."

"None taken," Chloe says, giving her a small, reassuring smile. "But, if it's not weird, can we address the big ass elephant in the room?"

Rachel doesn't exactly want to talk about her fame or her music career or any of that shit, because it stresses her out. But she owes Chloe everything in the world, so she'll talk about anything. "Yeah, shoot."

"Is it true that you're in the illuminati?"

"Oh my god." Rachel laughs, like actually  _laughs_. She really missed this, she really missed smiling. She finally relaxes for the first time since she's entered the apartment. "They haven't invited me yet, but you'll be the first to know."

Chloe smiles big and shakes out her hair. It sounds like the most genuine thing in the world when she says, "I'm so fucking proud of you, Rach."

"Yeah," Rachel says, feeling like a total dork for her gushing smile. "So you don't mind me sticking around for a few weeks?"

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

*

Two days later, Chloe comes strolling in happy as ever from her grocery store run with two packs of Oreos and pancake mix.

"We're going to deep fry them," she explains, smiling in a way that makes Rachel think of at least six different horrible cliches. Her brain ends up landing on sun through the clouds, and she's satisfied with that. Chloe's smile is like the sun peaking through the clouds on a gloomy day. "Have you ever had them before?"

"No," Rachel says, shaking her head. "It sounds incredibly unhealthy, though. So I'm all in."

She's still reeling from the whole thing. She expected an awkward transition, tears, fighting — but Chloe's mostly just happy and caring and more understanding than Rachel can wrap her head around.

They end up having a picnic in front of the window, with a blanket and sandwiches and deep-fried Oreos covered in powdered sugar. Which means Rachel's making a complete mess of her black shirt, but she doesn't mind. Besides, she's got more interesting things to care about, like figuring out what Chloe's been up to all these years.

"A mechanic, yeah? That's pretty hot."

Chloe ducks her head, but Rachel doesn't miss the red in her cheeks. "I mean, it's mostly dirty, but I like it. I'm really good at it."

Rachel nods. "Yeah, it's always nice to finally find something you're good at."

"What?" Chloe gasps, muffled around the Oreo she's stuffing in her mouth. "What  _aren't_ you good at?"

There are so many things. So fucking many things, but Rachel doesn't want to derail them into a pity-fest so she goes with, "You're right, I'm actually perfect."

"Always have been," Chloe says automatically, wiping off sugar dust with the back of her hand. "Not like, uh, in a weird pedestal way. But like, in that you're just. You're you."

Rachel quirks an eyebrow. "Yeah? Because that sounds pretty pedestal to me."

"Fuck off, you know what I'm saying. Don't make me like, say it."

"Alright, I guess." Rachel shrugs, nonchalant, mostly just to watch Chloe squirm. "But now I'm sort of convinced you're one of those weirdos who writes the fan-mail about how amazing I am with absolutely no facts to back it up."

"C'mon, I have facts." Chloe tilts her head like she's  _pleading_ , but Rachel's relentless. "You know, you're just. You always have this determination, like you know what you want to be doing and saying and it's really, uh, great. Because whatever you set your mind to, you just succeed."

Rachel has a lot to say in response to that, but she can sense shit's getting awkward since Chloe won't look at her anymore. So maybe they haven't gotten back into the groove of things, but they're at least moving in the right direction.

"I think that's true for anyone," she says, "but I won't turn down the compliment. Not sure Chloe Price gives out a lot of those."

*

Rachel packed maybe four outfits when she left for Arcadia Bay, which quickly becomes an issue. 

She's fresh out the shower one morning and realizes she's got nothing to put on. Chloe's at work taking care of some issue, but the burgundy Arcadia Bay crewneck she's always wearing around the apartment is lying across the back of the couch. Rachel grabs it without thinking about it, and then she's half-way into putting it over her head when she's hit with the smell of cranberry and vanilla and  _Chloe_. It smells undeniably like Chloe.

And then she can't take it off.

It's like she forms an emotional bond with it because it feels a lot like having Chloe wrapped around her — a feeling she's still not sure she'll ever get the chance to feel again. So when Chloe makes a joke about her wearing it for nearly three days straight, maybe she gets a  _little_ defensive.

"I'll just buy you a new one if you think I'm stinking up your shirt," she says, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. Whatever happens she's not giving this up. "You don't have to be mean about it." 

Chloe turns, and it's clear she's panicking. "I didn't mean it that way, it's just a little weird seeing you walk around in my clothes."

"Why's it weird?" Rachel asks, frowning, and Chloe laughs nervously as she tangles her hand in the back of her hair. Her cheeks keep getting increasingly more flushed, so eventually she has to duck away. Oh.  _Oh_. It's weird, like maybe Chloe's-really-into-it-weird. Rachel likes this development. "There's no use in me getting my own clothes, when you have a perfectly fine wardrobe."

"Yeah," Chloe says softly, and then she clears her throat and says more firmly, "Yeah. You can wear anything of mine, no problem."

Things sort of go in an interesting direction from there.

Over the next few days Rachel keeps taking t-shirts and shorts, and pants and a scarf and a beanie, and then she even takes one of Chloe's bracelets. It's fascinating because it's absolutely destroying Chloe, making her fidgety and antsy. She keeps sighing and fumbling over her words and biting her lip and avoiding eye-contact like the world is ending.

Rachel's walking around the apartment wearing her clothes, and using her shampoo, and being in her space, and it's obvious Chloe doesn't know what to do with herself.

It gets particularly intense when Rachel puts on Chloe's sleeveless, black illuminati shirt with no bra, and keeps catching the way Chloe sneaks glances at her when she thinks Rachel's not looking. She's so sure this is what breaks Chloe, that she spends the entire day highly anticipating Chloe making a move.

When she doesn't by the time dinner comes around, Rachel just decides to do it herself. 

Chloe's prepping a lasagna, so Rachel has to wait a minute until she's in between tasks. When she finally gets her opening, she walks over and casually links her arm around Chloe's. "You know, if I wear one of your hoodies with the hood on, we could probably get away with hanging out in the park."

"Are you kidding," Chloe laughs, and it's music to Rachel's ears. "This town has like, a sixth sense for Rachel Amber. They practically made a local holiday in your honor first time you won an award."

"Do kids get school off, 'cos I can put that on my taxes as charity."

Chloe laughs harder this time, and knocks into Rachel. "I hope you have a financial advisor, because I'm pretty sure that's not how that works."

"It's the celebrity special," Rachel says, and then she moves like she's going to knock back into Chloe, but instead she just pushes against her and holds her body there.

And suddenly they're  _close_. Close enough that she can smell Chloe's jasmine body wash and feel her breath brushing against her cheek. She can see just how beautiful her lips are and she has to actively suck her own lip in to stifle how much she wants to kiss her.

Chloe pulls away fast, though, and then she unlinks their arms and playfully shoves Rachel's shoulder. Oh.

"Yeah like you guys need anymore handouts. You're the only ones who can afford most shit and people just give you stuff for free." Too many seconds pass and Rachel doesn't say anything, doesn't recover quick enough. Chloe must notice something's up, because she moves back over and takes Rachel's hand into hers (still, unfortunately, keeping a respectable enough distance that they can't kiss). "Was just a joke, I know it's not really like that."

Rachel still doesn't say anything which, surprisingly, results in Chloe pulling her into a hug.

And it's actually kind of better than them kissing.

*

On Saturday they end up on the couch most of the day, marathoning shit on Netflix, Chloe's arm draped over the back so it's almost around Rachel's shoulders. They've cuddled before, in the past, and Chloe's hinted quite a bit that she's probably still interested in Rachel, but _God_ if Rachel's heart isn't thumping out her chest just from the thought of maybe leaning into Chloe and snuggling up close.

She wants Chloe to wrap her arm around her, fully, pull her in and rest her face against her hair. She just wants to _be in her arms_ , where she feels the safest and the happiest and the most loved. But for some reason the confidence that usually comes so easily for her is faltering.

Chloe's being so kind and reassuring, but Rachel can't help feeling like somehow she burns everything she touches, like she'll just consume Chloe like that fire she set in the park all those years ago. She knows she can be destructive sometimes, despite her best intentions. She... wants to be as considerate as possible of her impact on Chloe, is what she's getting at. But, it's just... she's gone the whole route of pushing Chloe out and it didn't work for either of them. Maybe all she's got left is to just let her in. 

Fuck it.

Rachel takes in a long breath, and then she grabs Chloe's hand off the couch and pulls it forward, pulls her legs onto the couch so she can push her back against Chloe's chest. And it works — Chloe drops her arm so it's around Rachel's waist and leans into her, presses her cheek firmly against Rachel's hair. She's so warm and amazing and Rachel fits perfectly against her.

And then someone knocks on the door.

Rachel opens her mouth to say ignore it but, before she can, Chloe playfully rubs her nose in her hair and whispers, "Be right back."

It's all a bit frustrating but Rachel hides her face in her hand so Chloe can't see how pouty she's being. She can be cool about this. She's Rachel Amber. She likes improv and games and jokes, and  _not being so fucking awkward_. Shit.

Chloe's only gone half a minute either way, comes back gripping a pizza box in both hands. She cocks her hip to the side and says, "Hope you've worked up an appetite, because dinner's here."

Rachel turns around on the couch so she can face Chloe. "What's the topping?"

"It's a Big Sausage Pizza," Chloe says slowly, biting her lip afterwards, and Rachel definitely would've missed the porn reference, if it weren't for the suggestive tone in her voice. 

Rachel's smile practically bursts out of her. _Sex jokes._ She can definitely live with that. Can't think of anything better to talk about with the one person that gives her stomach butterflies. She taps her lip like she's deep in thought, and then says, "Okay, but I'll only eat it if the sausages are arranged in the shape of a penis."

Chloe laughs, and it's so stupid that it still makes Rachel's heart flutter after all these days. Chloe's cheeks are decidedly a deeper shade of red than they were a few seconds ago, but she still sets the box on the arm of the couch and starts rearranging the sausages. After two minutes of working she shuts the lid again and picks the box up. "Okay, you ready for this?" she asks, flipping the box around so the opening is facing Rachel.

"Don't be a tease, show us your dick already," Rachel says, easy as anything, looking straight in Chloe's eyes. "It better be impressive."

Chloe blushes an even  _deeper_  shade of red, but she still lowers the box so it's right in front of her crotch and then flips the lid open. "Like what you see?"

Rachel snorts out a laugh — the dick looks fine, it's just, hard to believe Chloe actually did it. "That's a very nice penis you've got there. Big too. I like how there are other sausages thoughtfully sprinkled around it, very artistic."

Chloe laughs from the bottom of her belly and it's loud and lovely and makes the whole room feel warm. "The other sausages aren't sprinkles, they're  _stars_. I call it  _The Dick in our Stars_. It's my masterpiece."

Oh. Rachel's throat clenches up so suddenly, she let's out an embarrassing little sound. Either that was a coincidental joke, or Chloe just casually implied she remembers Rachel's love for stars and it's so incredibly fucking hard to imagine that someone actually cares for her that much.

"Stop being a weirdo," Chloe says, flopping down on the couch next to her. "Today we're going to eat pizza, and keep smiling. Those are the rules, no take backs." 

That's really all the encouragement Rachel needs. She's really good at taking direction and pretty decent at not making shit awkward, so it's right up her alley. She doesn't make it awkward the whole night, in fact, right up until they land on a **S** ensitive **T** opic.

It's by accident, honestly.

They're having a good time, eating pizza with Netflix paused, so they have a chance to just  _talk_ and catch up and recount all their good memories instead of focusing on the negative shit. Which is how they end up on the topic of the Tempest play and the adrenaline rush it was being in it, and the high they felt afterwards. And the kiss.

Which is exactly when Rachel makes it awkward, because instead of switching the clearly sensitive topic like a decent friend, she leans back into the couch and says, "So we should kiss again."

The fact that she doesn't get a response from Chloe should be her cue to stop. The fact that Chloe is deathly still should be her cue to switch to a different subject. But, she's Rachel Amber, so of course she leans over so her face is inches away from Chloe and just looks her in the eyes. Chloe doesn't protest — she actually doesn't do much of anything; Rachel's pretty sure she stopped breathing the moment she leaned in. She swears she can  _see_ how fast Chloe's heart is beating. It's not exactly an invitation, but her heart's beating fast too, and if that's any indication that they're feeling the same way, then Chloe has to also want to kiss her.

It's the easiest thing in the world for Rachel to move forward and press their noses together. She closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side, and then as soon as their lips touch, Chloe snaps her head back. It's the first time she's moved in over a minute, and for a split second she looks scared and unsure and very very  _very_  vulnerable, but despite all of that she slowly moves back in and fits her soft, soft lips against Rachel's.

And it's all suddenly so fucking clear, that this whole time Chloe must have believed with every fiber of her being that Rachel came back just so they could be  _friends_ again. Because she's breathing  _so_ hard and her hands keep keep keep shaking, to the point that Rachel has to climb in her lap and grab them into her own just to get her to calm down.

She doesn't want to chance pulling away and having Chloe feel embarrassed, so she pushes  _more_ into the kiss, sucking Chloe's lip in until Chloe gets the hint that Rachel wants her to open her mouth.

It takes Rachel running her tongue across her teeth for Chloe to  _get_ it. And once she gets it, it's like a switch goes off. Chloe moves her hands and gets them on Rachel's waist, sits up straight like she's leaning more into the kiss. She takes control from there, kisses Rachel hard, grips a hand in her hair and runs the other up her shirt, then flips them so Rachel's lying on the couch with Chloe comfortably between her legs.

It takes another minute for them to really settle into making-out, but once they do they must stay like that for at least an hour. Rachel's not really keeping track.

At some point Chloe pulls back, bright red lips glittering, smiling like an idiot. "This is really nice, Rach. But my neck is killing me."

*

It's a little funny how things work out.

That kiss leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to a hundred more. And after just a few days Rachel is so completely smitten that she lets Chloe convince her it's a good idea to hike up a mountain and camp at the top.

Rachel hasn't been hiking since she went with her dad and broke her arm, but now she's here standing in front of the campfire watching Chloe lay out a blanket. This whole thing is every bit of dumbfounding, like she can't believe she's here and she's with Chloe and th _is is happening_. She honestly thought this whole thing would go down in flames, so she's nowhere near mentally prepared for how far she's actually gotten.

"Everything okay?" Chloe asks, adjusting her hair as she walks back over. 

Rachel's still thinking about sappy shit, so her words get caught in her throat and she just ends up nodding instead. Which is stupid since it's a little hard to see a nod in the dark.

"You're not scared are you?" Chloe takes Rachel's hands and pulls her in close. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

"No it's not that, I..." Rachel doesn't have the words for it. She doesn't know how to explain it. She doesn't know how to tell Chloe that she moved away because she couldn't take it anymore. She moved away out of self-preservation and survival. She didn't move away because she thought she'd ever be happy again, or to find _real_ happiness, or to find _new_ happiness. In fact, she'd sort of given up on ever being truly happy, and now. Now she's  _here_ , and — "I'm just so happy to be with you."

"Oh. Yeah, me too." Chloe smiles at her, big and dopey and full of life, and then she pulls away for a second so she can walk over and put the fire out. The night temperature isn't bad, so they didn't really need the fire for the heat — but with it gone, it does make Rachel distinctly aware of just how  _dark_ it actually is. She's just about to reach out for Chloe, but Chloe finds her first, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her in.

"Look around, babe."

Rachel does, but she's not sure what she's supposed to see. She can barely make out the outline of Chloe's face and she's just inches away. "It's so dark, I can't see anything."

Chloe laughs, and then she leans in and kisses her so tenderly that it makes Rachel's head spin. "That's because you're looking in the wrong direction," she says, lifting her hand so she can tilt Rachel's chin up.

And then Rachel sees the stars. There's so many of them prettily littering the sky that it feels a little hard to breathe.

"Wow, I. I never —"

"The lights in the city make it hard to notice," Chloe cuts in, "but if you find a way to distance yourself, you can really see how amazing the night sky is."

The night sky  _is_ amazing, but this whole experience is amplified by the fact that Chloe's here, that she's experiencing this with _her_. It feels like she doesn't have to worry, like she doesn't have to be vigilant about things going to shit. She feels like she can trust Chloe with her happiness without trying to figure out when it's all going to end.

After a minute, Chloe pulls them over to the blanket, and they end up just lying in silence for a long while, cuddling and looking up at the stars. Rachel's nearly asleep when Chloe starts speaking. "Every time I look up in the sky, I think of you Rachel. And maybe it makes me the dumbest person in the world, but for some reason I'm happy just knowing you're doing okay. That's what got me through these past five years. You were right when you first got here, I didn't... I didn't always see things the way I do now. But I meant it when I said it was for the best."

Rachel squeezes her hand. "I don't think you're dumb at all, I —"

"Wait, I just want to get this all out," Chloe interrupts. "Look, I know you have to go back soon, to your life, so I guess I'm just... still not sure what you want. Like, this is amazing, and I love you, but you can't hide here forever."

Rachel turns and presses her face into the nook of Chloe's neck, because it suddenly feels like there's something more important to be paying attention to than the stars. "Isn't it obvious what I want? I want you... sleeping on the terrace of my condo in L.A. I want you riding dolphins with me in Cancun. I want you in the audience so I can thank you for everything you do for me at awards shows. I want  _you_ , Chloe Price. I want you with me. I didn't come here to play house for a few days and leave. I came here for you. I came back for you."

Chloe's heartbeat is slamming against Rachel right now, but she's being otherwise silent, and Rachel doesn't know how to be more obvious and straight-forward about what she wants.

"I should've come back sooner, but I felt like I couldn't face coming back to this place before. And, honestly, I feel like I  _still_ can't face this place now. But I'm here."

Chloe swallows hard, and then she tightens her arms around Rachel. "I didn't know riding a dolphin was even an option. So you better not be lying to me, because I'm excited."

Rachel laughs and squeezes Chloe tighter to match how her heart's squeezing in her chest. "It's more like you're in the water and they come up underneath you and push you forward. But it's still badass."

"Yeah," Chloe whispers, "it sounds badass."

Rachel doesn't know what happens next or how they're going to figure out their new life together. But she has Chloe with her and she's never going to let anything separate them again. She just wants to give her everything they used to talk about. She just wants to parade her around for the world to see that she's finally happy.

And, more than anything, she just wants to frame the first headline that says  _Rachel Amber Seen Making Out With Hot Blue-Haired Girl_.


End file.
